I only got to know of this brand: AHAVA, recently when my dad brought them back from overseas. It was said to be good and really popular there, and thus, my dad brought back a few items for us to try.
Of all, I really liked the Mineral Body Lotion. :)
All AHAVA products are made from dead sea minerals, which are said to be essential in maintaining your skin, leaving it smooth and healthy.
And thus, for the lotion, it really kept my skin smooth and moisturized, especially when I was in an air-conditioned room. To add on, it had a really nice fragrance. :) I checked out the prices when I saw it's branch at Centrepoint, and it was only $49! A really good buy for such a good product~
There are many other products available, for people of different skin types, and even moisturisers and stuff for men as well.
What's more, I think that they are having a 30% off for certain products in the store now! Maybe you can drop by and check out the products for yourself! The salesperson was all smiles and friendly, so don't hesitate if you require advices or more explaination for the products there. :)
Hmm..in my case, I found the food there to be not bad and quite reasonably priced..if you don't mind the smaller portions that is.
My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to settle our lunch, and we decided to give this place a try. I had their Grilled Terriyaki Chicken chop (with Alio Olio and salad) while he had one of their signature dishes (i forgot what the dish is called~ heh..).
The wait for the food wasn't long and their main menu was quite attractive in the variety of food that was offered. The sub-menu, which stated their special offers and stuff, were disorganised and quite difficult to comprehend though.
Yet, we made out the offers and had their special student offer: FREE Iced Latte with Ice-cream, just by presenting your student pass. :)
Anyway, the food was not bad. For mine, the chicken was well grilled and tender, with really nice gravy. :) But..yeah, I do agree that the portion is a little too small. I don't mind paying $7.90 for my main course, but..the chicken chop was slightly bigger than my palm size, and the portion of Alio Olio was smaller than my palm size.
Hmm. A good place to dine at generally, if you aren't really starving or are small eaters. Cuz the place generally provides quite an enjoyable stay for a nice meal with your friends and/or partners. And..the service by the staff was good in my opinion. All smiles and a nice attitude. :)
Over-priced..or not, I guess it depends on what you order and personal prefence then. But..do give it a try if you are looking for some place new to dine at~ :)
After a bad experience with egg tarts when I was young, it left me with a certain level of dislike with egg tarts. Somehow, I never really liked them after that incident and..reject every offer of egg tarts.
Yet. Tong Heng's egg tarts got my perceptions totally changed now. Their egg tarts? *mm~* Heavenly.
You may think that egg tarts are just egg tarts, but no. Even after trying other egg tarts in Chinatown, Tong Heng's egg tarts still seems the best.
At Tong Heng, the egg tarts are freshly baked, so much so that they steam and stay warm till your very last bite. Unlike other egg tarts, their egg tarts do not have crusts that causes the custard to be 'sacrificed' and lose their flavour. With it's crispy crust and extremely soft and delicious inner custard, oh my..you'll want more after the first one.
Normal reactions after eating it: "*gasps* oh my god. this is really good~!!"
The reason is, the custard is really jelly like and smooth like beancurd. Haha..you could even swallow it if you want to I guess. But really, you won't think of other egg tarts once you have tried Tong Heng's.
With the doughnut craze blowing through our island, my sister apparently got affected and went to queue at Vinco doughnut palour today.
Looking through the website, and comparing the actual doughnuts with the pictures..really, technology does wonders. It does look so much more appealing on the websites. =/
As for the taste, I'll raise two hands up in agreement with what they have stated on their site: "we sell works of art laid on fried pieces of dough". Yup. That's how it tasted. The "works of art" were the "works of art" while the dough was dough. The 2 did not seem to blend in well together and..it just tasted like any bakery's doughnut.
What was so special about it? *shrugs*
No idea.
I had the Chocolate Delight doughnut and..for me, it just tasted like chocolate on dough. As simple as that. Nothing special in my opinion. It can totally be comparable to Nutella spread on plain white bread. So..what is so attractive about the doughnuts? The design on the doughnuts? *hmm*
Maybe it's just the craze that gets everyone queuing.
*shrugs*
Recently, we were looking for a dessert place around Clarke Quay and we spotted a long queue outside Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream.
Curious, we went to get one too (since we WERE looking for dessert of some kind..haha..) and got the double scoop cone, with it's Passion Fruit and Chocolate flavoured ice-cream.
The ice-cream turned out really smooth and not very sweet. Tasted just nice, and was really not bad. Passion Fruit was a little too sour and weird at first, but slowly, the taste just got better. :P
Yet..I felt that it was a little expensive for a cone like that. If I'm not wrong, it was about $5 plus for the double scoop cone? Yeah.
Nevertheless, it's still worth a try~
Furthermore, u can get a cone and enjoy it beside the river with your partner or friends! :)
Yup! I do agree that Carl's Junior is totally a worthwhile meal as well!
Though its meals are slightly more expensive than the other fast food outlets, but..do note that their burgers are bigger and definitely better. The fries that they serve are also tastier, as compared to McDonald's. The potato just seems 'smoother' and better, as compared to the other versions of it being a little too oily, in thinner slices and/or over-fried (?).
If you are a small eater, don't fret. It doesn't mean that you have to miss trying out Carl's Junior! You can either order the burgers which are slightly smaller in size, or simply dine with a girl-friend and share it with her~ :)
Oh and yup, no more fuss about having too little drinks (for guys especially..heh)! Over there at Carl's Junior, it's free flow for the drinks, meaning that you can get the drink of your choice and have control over its amount.
So if you haven't tried Carl's Junior, do drop by one of their outlets and try it now!
Made with Love first attracted me, because of it's attractive interior design.
Walking in, it just proved itself to be a heaven for those who love to use their creative juices in making scrapbooks or gifts for their family and friends. (If you are creative enough, some of the embellishments can be used for other uses besides scrapbook making). The range of patterned papers, embellishments and decorative items for your project will definitely make you spoilt for choice. :)
However, I do agree that some of the items there are slightly more costly. Perhaps cos the items are imported? *shrugs* But nevertheless, the range of items provides a good place for people to extend their creative sides and create one of a kind art pieces. :)
I really like the environment at Art Friend, as it is just filled with all the stuff that you may need to complete any art works or projects. It's just like a little kid in a candy store - facinating and exciting. :P
They have a wide variety of materials for people of different ages, whether you are completing a school project or just looking for materials for a project that you have taken up to do at your free time.
Usually, I'd head over to Art Friend when I need materials that are not easily found in the common stationery stores, especially when I need them for DIY-ing gifts and stuffs. However, I also feel that the organisation in Art Friend is poor. The shelves look messy, with some things just looking like they've been thrown around.
Maybe they should try to improve on the organisation and attitude of the staffs.
Have recently got back from Hong Kong, and..this trip to Hong Kong changed my perceptions about quite a few things.
Firstly, their MTR is very similar to our MRT. Only difference was that..i felt that their stations were more..handicap (or even people) friendly. :) They had blinking dots on the maps, to let people know which stations they were at, and informed them which sides of the train to alight from. I felt that that was really a considerate service.
Imagine that. If we had this in Singapore, there won't be people trying to hide their embarassment or made to look stupid when they face the wrong side of doors at City Hall station. :P
Also, all their train annoucements were said in 3 different languages - Cantonese, Mandarin and English. At the stations, there were even braille on some of their ticketing machines, and..some signs with beeping noises at the escalators, to let the blind know that they are reaching the start of an escalator. Isn't that considerate? :)
The stations were all very clean as well, with different themes and colours allocated to each specific station, making visits to each station feel like an entirely new experience.
However, the shopping.
Hmm. It was far from what I expected, as recommended places like Temple Street and Hollywood Road only proved to be quite pathetic. Most of the stuff there were antiques and daily items which can easily be found in Singapore. Imitation goods were also available but..were common and definitely far from being attractive. :(
And the shopping malls? Oh my. It just left us horrified.
The prices were all so high! Even though they had "SALES" and "CRAZY SALES!" signs everywhere, to us, there weren't any sales at all. Belts and accessories could cost $30 at the minimum, and spaghetti tops can even be priced at $70 plus! And it's Sing dollars mind you. :O
We stayed away from the shopping malls after the first day of fright at Grand Century Plaza. x)
As for the streets, I'd recommend Granville Road (@ Tsim Sha Tsui), Li Yuen Street (@ Central), Fa Yuen Street Market & the Ladies Market (both @ Mongkok). Fa Yuen Street Market especially. There's alot more to shop there than the other streets, yet..I guess it's inevitable that most of the stuff look quite similar as you walk along. Just be sharp and patient enough to look through everything! :P
Ah..then we found a few small malls like our Far East Plaza there, that aren't featured on the maps. Like..Fashion Walk, Fashion Island & Causeway Place at Causeway Bay..and..Clue Shopping Arcade at Central. They are quite good places to shop, and the prices are not that scary. x)
Then..the places for sightseeing.
Hmm..I thought Repulse Bay was beautiful. :) The scenery there, wow..you've never guess that the pictures taken there were in HK. Hawaii, maybe. Oh! And we got to see Jackie Chan's house too! From far. Haha..
Victoria Peak is also another place which we went for sightseeing..but..there wasn't anything much. A trip there to probably see where the rich people stay, and..to get a full view of HK Island. :)
Ah..Avenue of Stars was quite okay. Quite a worthwhile place to drop by at night, just to view the night scenery and the handprints of all those celebrities along the walk.
And lastly, visit the wishing tree if you have time.
It's located at 新界大埔林村. Though we can no longer throw the oranges up onto the tree, but..really, the tree works wonders. It's a little far, but since my friend and I made it there ourselves, you guys should have no problems. Just take the MTR and switch to their KCR (their railway train station) and get off at 太和 station, before hailing a cab to reach the village where the tree is. Definitely worth the trip in my opinion.. :)
Ah-ha, and the food.
Please do try the wonton noodles in HK. They are fabulous. Serious. Their wonton makes Singapore's wonton look horribly pathetic. For your info, our wonton is only like..1/3 the size of theirs? x) And their wonton really have fresh prawns inside~ *mm* Delicious. :)
Oh yah, they have a dessert store called Xu Liu Shan. You can see it almost everywhere you go in HK, and..there'll be crowds. It's really good and everything that they used to make the dessert is fresh and definitely not syrup or preserved fruits. Worth every cent that you pay for! Besides, the price is reasonable too. :)
***
Though shopping was disappointing, but still, this trip to Hong Kong is a new experience altogther, especially observing their culture and people there.
One incident that struck me most: These people are really well mannered in the train stations. Totally unlike those rowdy HK locals that we may see on television.
What I saw was that, they actually QUEUE while waiting for the train to arrive, and move in orderly when the train arrives! That's such a courteous thing to do! Just imagine the chaotic scene at City Hall every evening, with the difference - people actually queuing in front of the doors, while waiting..then moving in orderly without pushing, squeezing or flattened against the door.
Imagine all the difference it'll make to have that.
*hmm*
A last note: their Cantonese sounded like Thai to me on the first day. Haha..especially when the salesperson speaks a whole string of Cantonese. xD But..no worries if you don't understand/speak Cantonese like me. Most of them speak a little Mandarin but that's enough to make deals with them. Some do speak English as well.
Else if all languages fail, gestures will do fine. :P
Beautifully decorated with traditional furnitures and flowered wallpapers, Asian Kitchen just brings about a nice ambience and provides a soothing place to have a meal. With the efficient service, the visit was definitely worth it. :)
Ah..and I do agree that the xiao long baos are GREAT! :) They came steaming hot, and the soup within just gushes out when u take a bite into it. Delightable taste that just makes u want it more! ;)
I also tried their fried rice, and..it was not bad. I just found it a little too oily for my preference. Yet..I guess traditional fried rice just needs more oil to get the flavour. However, they serve other traditional Chinese food that you can try as well. :)
1=SGD 0.0587
I only got to know of this brand: AHAVA, recently when my dad brought them back from overseas. It was said to be good and really popular there, and thus, my dad brought back a few items for us to try.
Of all, I really liked the Mineral Body Lotion. :)
All AHAVA products are made from dead sea minerals, which are said to be essential in maintaining your skin, leaving it smooth and healthy.
And thus, for the lotion, it really kept my skin smooth and moisturized, especially when I was in an air-conditioned room. To add on, it had a really nice fragrance. :) I checked out the prices when I saw it's branch at Centrepoint, and it was only $49! A really good buy for such a good product~
There are many other products available, for people of different skin types, and even moisturisers and stuff for men as well.
What's more, I think that they are having a 30% off for certain products in the store now! Maybe you can drop by and check out the products for yourself! The salesperson was all smiles and friendly, so don't hesitate if you require advices or more explaination for the products there. :)
Rating given:
Hmm..in my case, I found the food there to be not bad and quite reasonably priced..if you don't mind the smaller portions that is.
My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to settle our lunch, and we decided to give this place a try. I had their Grilled Terriyaki Chicken chop (with Alio Olio and salad) while he had one of their signature dishes (i forgot what the dish is called~ heh..).
The wait for the food wasn't long and their main menu was quite attractive in the variety of food that was offered. The sub-menu, which stated their special offers and stuff, were disorganised and quite difficult to comprehend though.
Yet, we made out the offers and had their special student offer: FREE Iced Latte with Ice-cream, just by presenting your student pass. :)
Anyway, the food was not bad. For mine, the chicken was well grilled and tender, with really nice gravy. :) But..yeah, I do agree that the portion is a little too small. I don't mind paying $7.90 for my main course, but..the chicken chop was slightly bigger than my palm size, and the portion of Alio Olio was smaller than my palm size.
Hmm. A good place to dine at generally, if you aren't really starving or are small eaters. Cuz the place generally provides quite an enjoyable stay for a nice meal with your friends and/or partners. And..the service by the staff was good in my opinion. All smiles and a nice attitude. :)
Over-priced..or not, I guess it depends on what you order and personal prefence then. But..do give it a try if you are looking for some place new to dine at~ :)
Rating given:
After a bad experience with egg tarts when I was young, it left me with a certain level of dislike with egg tarts. Somehow, I never really liked them after that incident and..reject every offer of egg tarts.
Yet. Tong Heng's egg tarts got my perceptions totally changed now. Their egg tarts? *mm~* Heavenly.
You may think that egg tarts are just egg tarts, but no. Even after trying other egg tarts in Chinatown, Tong Heng's egg tarts still seems the best.
At Tong Heng, the egg tarts are freshly baked, so much so that they steam and stay warm till your very last bite. Unlike other egg tarts, their egg tarts do not have crusts that causes the custard to be 'sacrificed' and lose their flavour. With it's crispy crust and extremely soft and delicious inner custard, oh my..you'll want more after the first one.
Normal reactions after eating it: "*gasps* oh my god. this is really good~!!"
The reason is, the custard is really jelly like and smooth like beancurd. Haha..you could even swallow it if you want to I guess. But really, you won't think of other egg tarts once you have tried Tong Heng's.
Egg tarts may just never be the same anymore. ;)
Rating given:
With the doughnut craze blowing through our island, my sister apparently got affected and went to queue at Vinco doughnut palour today.
Looking through the website, and comparing the actual doughnuts with the pictures..really, technology does wonders. It does look so much more appealing on the websites. =/
As for the taste, I'll raise two hands up in agreement with what they have stated on their site: "we sell works of art laid on fried pieces of dough". Yup. That's how it tasted. The "works of art" were the "works of art" while the dough was dough. The 2 did not seem to blend in well together and..it just tasted like any bakery's doughnut.
What was so special about it? *shrugs*
No idea.
I had the Chocolate Delight doughnut and..for me, it just tasted like chocolate on dough. As simple as that. Nothing special in my opinion. It can totally be comparable to Nutella spread on plain white bread. So..what is so attractive about the doughnuts? The design on the doughnuts? *hmm*
Maybe it's just the craze that gets everyone queuing.
*shrugs*
Rating given:
Recently, we were looking for a dessert place around Clarke Quay and we spotted a long queue outside Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream.
Curious, we went to get one too (since we WERE looking for dessert of some kind..haha..) and got the double scoop cone, with it's Passion Fruit and Chocolate flavoured ice-cream.
The ice-cream turned out really smooth and not very sweet. Tasted just nice, and was really not bad. Passion Fruit was a little too sour and weird at first, but slowly, the taste just got better. :P
Yet..I felt that it was a little expensive for a cone like that. If I'm not wrong, it was about $5 plus for the double scoop cone? Yeah.
Nevertheless, it's still worth a try~
Furthermore, u can get a cone and enjoy it beside the river with your partner or friends! :)
Rating given:
Yup! I do agree that Carl's Junior is totally a worthwhile meal as well!
Though its meals are slightly more expensive than the other fast food outlets, but..do note that their burgers are bigger and definitely better. The fries that they serve are also tastier, as compared to McDonald's. The potato just seems 'smoother' and better, as compared to the other versions of it being a little too oily, in thinner slices and/or over-fried (?).
If you are a small eater, don't fret. It doesn't mean that you have to miss trying out Carl's Junior! You can either order the burgers which are slightly smaller in size, or simply dine with a girl-friend and share it with her~ :)
Oh and yup, no more fuss about having too little drinks (for guys especially..heh)! Over there at Carl's Junior, it's free flow for the drinks, meaning that you can get the drink of your choice and have control over its amount.
So if you haven't tried Carl's Junior, do drop by one of their outlets and try it now!
Rating given:
Made with Love first attracted me, because of it's attractive interior design.
Walking in, it just proved itself to be a heaven for those who love to use their creative juices in making scrapbooks or gifts for their family and friends. (If you are creative enough, some of the embellishments can be used for other uses besides scrapbook making). The range of patterned papers, embellishments and decorative items for your project will definitely make you spoilt for choice. :)
However, I do agree that some of the items there are slightly more costly. Perhaps cos the items are imported? *shrugs* But nevertheless, the range of items provides a good place for people to extend their creative sides and create one of a kind art pieces. :)
Rating given:
I really like the environment at Art Friend, as it is just filled with all the stuff that you may need to complete any art works or projects. It's just like a little kid in a candy store - facinating and exciting. :P
They have a wide variety of materials for people of different ages, whether you are completing a school project or just looking for materials for a project that you have taken up to do at your free time.
Usually, I'd head over to Art Friend when I need materials that are not easily found in the common stationery stores, especially when I need them for DIY-ing gifts and stuffs. However, I also feel that the organisation in Art Friend is poor. The shelves look messy, with some things just looking like they've been thrown around.
Maybe they should try to improve on the organisation and attitude of the staffs.
Rating given:
Have recently got back from Hong Kong, and..this trip to Hong Kong changed my perceptions about quite a few things.
Firstly, their MTR is very similar to our MRT. Only difference was that..i felt that their stations were more..handicap (or even people) friendly. :) They had blinking dots on the maps, to let people know which stations they were at, and informed them which sides of the train to alight from. I felt that that was really a considerate service.
Imagine that. If we had this in Singapore, there won't be people trying to hide their embarassment or made to look stupid when they face the wrong side of doors at City Hall station. :P
Also, all their train annoucements were said in 3 different languages - Cantonese, Mandarin and English. At the stations, there were even braille on some of their ticketing machines, and..some signs with beeping noises at the escalators, to let the blind know that they are reaching the start of an escalator. Isn't that considerate? :)
The stations were all very clean as well, with different themes and colours allocated to each specific station, making visits to each station feel like an entirely new experience.
However, the shopping.
Hmm. It was far from what I expected, as recommended places like Temple Street and Hollywood Road only proved to be quite pathetic. Most of the stuff there were antiques and daily items which can easily be found in Singapore. Imitation goods were also available but..were common and definitely far from being attractive. :(
And the shopping malls? Oh my. It just left us horrified.
The prices were all so high! Even though they had "SALES" and "CRAZY SALES!" signs everywhere, to us, there weren't any sales at all. Belts and accessories could cost $30 at the minimum, and spaghetti tops can even be priced at $70 plus! And it's Sing dollars mind you. :O
We stayed away from the shopping malls after the first day of fright at Grand Century Plaza. x)
As for the streets, I'd recommend Granville Road (@ Tsim Sha Tsui), Li Yuen Street (@ Central), Fa Yuen Street Market & the Ladies Market (both @ Mongkok). Fa Yuen Street Market especially. There's alot more to shop there than the other streets, yet..I guess it's inevitable that most of the stuff look quite similar as you walk along. Just be sharp and patient enough to look through everything! :P
Ah..then we found a few small malls like our Far East Plaza there, that aren't featured on the maps. Like..Fashion Walk, Fashion Island & Causeway Place at Causeway Bay..and..Clue Shopping Arcade at Central. They are quite good places to shop, and the prices are not that scary. x)
Then..the places for sightseeing.
Hmm..I thought Repulse Bay was beautiful. :) The scenery there, wow..you've never guess that the pictures taken there were in HK. Hawaii, maybe. Oh! And we got to see Jackie Chan's house too! From far. Haha..
Victoria Peak is also another place which we went for sightseeing..but..there wasn't anything much. A trip there to probably see where the rich people stay, and..to get a full view of HK Island. :)
Ah..Avenue of Stars was quite okay. Quite a worthwhile place to drop by at night, just to view the night scenery and the handprints of all those celebrities along the walk.
And lastly, visit the wishing tree if you have time.
It's located at 新界大埔林村. Though we can no longer throw the oranges up onto the tree, but..really, the tree works wonders. It's a little far, but since my friend and I made it there ourselves, you guys should have no problems. Just take the MTR and switch to their KCR (their railway train station) and get off at 太和 station, before hailing a cab to reach the village where the tree is. Definitely worth the trip in my opinion.. :)
Ah-ha, and the food.
Please do try the wonton noodles in HK. They are fabulous. Serious. Their wonton makes Singapore's wonton look horribly pathetic. For your info, our wonton is only like..1/3 the size of theirs? x) And their wonton really have fresh prawns inside~ *mm* Delicious. :)
Oh yah, they have a dessert store called Xu Liu Shan. You can see it almost everywhere you go in HK, and..there'll be crowds. It's really good and everything that they used to make the dessert is fresh and definitely not syrup or preserved fruits. Worth every cent that you pay for! Besides, the price is reasonable too. :)
***
Though shopping was disappointing, but still, this trip to Hong Kong is a new experience altogther, especially observing their culture and people there.
One incident that struck me most: These people are really well mannered in the train stations. Totally unlike those rowdy HK locals that we may see on television.
What I saw was that, they actually QUEUE while waiting for the train to arrive, and move in orderly when the train arrives! That's such a courteous thing to do! Just imagine the chaotic scene at City Hall every evening, with the difference - people actually queuing in front of the doors, while waiting..then moving in orderly without pushing, squeezing or flattened against the door.
Imagine all the difference it'll make to have that.
*hmm*
A last note: their Cantonese sounded like Thai to me on the first day. Haha..especially when the salesperson speaks a whole string of Cantonese. xD But..no worries if you don't understand/speak Cantonese like me. Most of them speak a little Mandarin but that's enough to make deals with them. Some do speak English as well.
Else if all languages fail, gestures will do fine. :P
Rating given:
Beautifully decorated with traditional furnitures and flowered wallpapers, Asian Kitchen just brings about a nice ambience and provides a soothing place to have a meal. With the efficient service, the visit was definitely worth it. :)
Ah..and I do agree that the xiao long baos are GREAT! :) They came steaming hot, and the soup within just gushes out when u take a bite into it. Delightable taste that just makes u want it more! ;)
I also tried their fried rice, and..it was not bad. I just found it a little too oily for my preference. Yet..I guess traditional fried rice just needs more oil to get the flavour. However, they serve other traditional Chinese food that you can try as well. :)
Rating given: